It's a dreary Saturday morning in Gumboro, Delaware, and Colors is getting antsy.

With a fine mist enveloping his red barn, the 4-foot-9-inch chestnut pony yawns a few times and clops an impatient hoof. As the winning 4-H High Point Western Pony at the 2014 Delaware State Fair, Colors does not usually misbehave. But he is accustomed to riding at least five days a week with his owner, Haylee Wells.

"We just understand each other," she said. "We can come out and have fun with each other, just like friends do."

For Haylee, a 16-year-old at Indian River High School, Colors is more than a prize-winning pony. He's her best friend. She began lead lining ponies at age 3 and moved up to riding at 6. Her previous ponies could prove stubborn, but Colors' calm disposition compliments Haylee's driven perfectionism.

"She's very determined and he's very willing," said her mother, Pam Wells.

Like most children trying out an extra-curricular, Haylee did not want to make the daily commitment to her ponies when she started riding, her mother said. But unlike a soccer ball she could throw in the closet and return to in the spring, she was forced to care for a living, breathing animal every day.

Ten years later, she's racked up ribbons at local competitions and the state fair.

In some ways, Haylee has even surpassed her older sister's equestrian commitment. Before Haylee bought Colors, it was Kaycee Wells, 21, who garnered most of the ribbons.

Today, Kaycee is spending less time worrying about winning shows and more of her hours training a younger horse, Angel. She's also happy to shift the spotlight onto her younger sister, who takes a more disciplined riding approach than she did.

"She's so devoted," she said. "We're definitely two different riders, and it shows."

Haylee plans to ride as long as she can, but her equestrian interests extend beyond the competition ring. She's already taking animal science classes at school, with hopes of attending the University of Kentucky and later becoming a veterinarian. When she graduates high school, she'll leave with a veterinarian assistant's degree, her mother said.

Standing in the barn, it's not hard to imagine Haylee caring for a slew of animals. In addition to their horses, a tabby cat weaves through the stables, a black Labrador bounds around the backyard and a large pig snorts in a pen behind the barn.

Watching her gallop around her backyard, however, it's clear to see where her passion lies.

"It's just a really good feeling to be with a horse you can connect with," she said. "I feel like I'm on top of the world."